Carlos, currently coaching at Turkish league side Sivasspor, was previously tipped to take over the reigns from former Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund, however, SAFA were quick to shut down the rumours and named Shakes Mashaba to lead the national side.
Despite being a fan on Messi, the one-time Ballon d’Or runner-up has claimed that Ronaldo deserves the 2014 award ahead of the Argentine, as the Portugal striker has been “more impressive” in the current calendar year.
"I am a big fan of Lionel Messi, but Cristiano Ronaldo has been more impressive," Carlos told Perform.
"Everything he does, goes right. He is a leader.
"I am not saying that because he is a Real Madrid player. This is not the point here. Messi is incredible and his history in football is marvellous. But we have to choose the best player in the season and that was Cristiano Ronaldo," he added.
Germany’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is also amongst the nominees for the coveted award, however, Carlos feels his countryman Neymar deserved to be pitted against Ronaldo and Messi.
"Neymar is a phenomenon, this boy," claimed the 41-year-old.
"He adapted to European football very quick. He delivered great performances with Barca and Selecao [Brazil national team].
"The thing is Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are getting better every day. Neymar is trying to reach their level but every time he comes close they just get better.
"We all know that it's really hard to give the Ballon d'Or to a goalkeeper or even a defender. Maybe [Fabio] Cannavaro and [Paolo] Maldini were the only exceptions.
"So in my opinion the three best players in the world this season were Cristiano, Messi and Neymar," he concluded.